Let me tell you what this article isn’t. It isn’t a comprehensive review of the research involved in each of the topics below. It isn’t an attempt to fairly present both sides of an issue (science versus anti-science).
A few readers from my prior articles (part 1 and part 2) are unclear about that.
What this is, is a collection of critical jabs at Facebook pages that deserve mocking, along with an example or two. I try to throw in a few links to websites with rational content that support my assertions.
If you want to avoid people who lie to you about how the world and science and medicine is awful–but they have a solution, you’re in the right place.
#10 Fearless Parent
Facebook fans: 6K
What They Say About Themselves
“Fearless Parent™ is the thinking person’s daily dose of unconventional, evidence-based news about health, wellness, green living, and holistic parenting.”
What They Really Do
They strike fear into the hearts of parents. To quote my friend at The Spudd:
…writers on this blog and the accompanying radio show have warned against vaccines, fluoride, insulin, vitamin K shot for newborns, RhoGAM, antibiotics, GMOs, bras, plastic containers, cell phones, wifi, Tylenol, prenatal ultrasounds, Lyme disease, psychiatric medications, noise pollution, vitamin D supplementation, folate supplementation for pregnant women, toxins in cookware, plastics, cleaning supplies, cosmetics, an unhealthy microbiome, sugar, gluten, C-sections, baby formula, deodorant, and so much more!
What’s wrong with the warnings? Fear of all those things is almost certainly unwarranted. It all boils down as a fear of technology itself. And it is quite ironic coming from a group that promises in its name to help you become fearless.
Recent Ridiculousness
Johnson & Johnson is not poisoning your child.
Second, every minute of every day on every inch of this planet, formaldehyde is all around you and inside you. Always.
Yet we’re not all dropping dead from cancer. That’s thanks to one of the most fundamental principles of toxicology: The dose makes the poison. “Unfortunately, all molecules are potentially toxic,” says American University chemist Matthew Hartings. “Toxicity is not just about the molecule but is about both the molecule and its concentration.”
Fearless Parent does a lot of this hit-and-run article-posting without commentary. It’s like tossing a real estate flyer on your doormat. Except it’s a flaming paper bag full of dog shit.
Which is why their Facebook engagement is generally pretty low, thank goodness.
Sample Fan Comment
Conspiracies everywhere. Everyone is part of huge conspiracy to poison everyone.
#9 Consumer Reports
Facebook fans: 271K
What They Say About Themselves
“Consumer Reports is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace.”
What They Really Do
Mixed in with cell phone comparisons and vehicle surveys, are Facebook posts supporting organic food, GMO labelling, and legislation about laundry pods.
Consumer Reports is also really into weight loss and health woo. Such as in this catalog made of actual paper.
Here are a bunch of falsehoods about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that just cropped up in Facebook. For an example of just how misleading this infographic is, cold-resistent “fish-tomatoes” were never on store shelves.
Consumer Reports is also attempting to freak people out about getting mammograms and other medical imaging, by grossly exaggerating its risks.
Recent Ridiculousness
Out of the entire marvel that is the annual Consumer Electronics Show, THIS is the product you want to showcase? A vibratory version of snake oil?
Sample Fan Comment
The majority of Consumer Reports fans do seem to be pretty level-headed. Which is why they really speak up when CR takes a kookoo turn like this.
So knock it off, Consumer Reports. Embrace science.
In the mean time, dear reader, take any health and safety recommendations from Consumer Reports with a grain of Himalayan pink salt.
#8 Mark Hyman, MD
Facebook fans: 294K
What He Says About Himself
“Dr. Hyman is a 9x #1 New York Times bestselling author, family physician and international leader in the field of Functional Medicine.”
What He Really Does
Hyman’s “functional medicine” sounds good at first. It purports to recognize systems, find causes, and treat the whole organism. Unfortunately, it embraces all kinds of “alternate medicine” practices that have no effect better than placebo: acupuncture, homeopathy, and the like.
Hey, guess what else recognizes systems, finds causes, and treats the whole organism?
Hyman is misusing current research to determine treatment – but this is simply not evidence-based. It is not “functional” medicine, it is bad medicine. Science-based doctors want to know what markers actually mean – and for treatments that means they need to be tied to treatment outcomes. None of the studies Hyman references actually support the genetics-based treatment decisions he is advocating.
Hyman uses a standard straw-man argument to scare people away from their traditional doctors, and promise to offer something better, by cherry-picking from random research to sound more advanced.
Why would he do this? He has things to sell you. Like unregulated supplements that cost sixty bucks for a two-month bottle.
He wrote the forward for Food Babe‘s awful book. He appears on Dr. Oz a lot. The Clintons inexplicably love him.
Recent Ridiculousness
Lots of these “alternative” health pages have been shilling for Thrive Market lately. It’s breathtakingly bold shilling. Hey, FTC: this is an affiliate link, yet the good doctor has failed to disclose.
Sample Fan Comment
Yeah. That is not a thing.
#7 GMO Free USA
Facebook fans: 665K
What They Say About Themselves
“Our mission is to harness independent science and agroecological concepts to advocate for sustainable food and ecological systems.”
What They Really Do
Lie, and lie, and lie about conventional farming practices and agricultural research.
Founder Diana Reeves tragically lost her son to cancer at age 5. Somehow Reeves decided that GMO food was to blame, though there is no scientific evidence to support that conclusion. She is angry and she (or her assistants) will post anything that implies that conventional farming is killing people. It is not.
For chrissakes, she’s even claiming that insulin therapy for type 2 diabetics causes something called “double diabetes”.
Recent Ridiculousness
We have compulsive liar and ludicrously-large-bindi-wearer Vandana Shiva to blame for this crock. True Bt cotton has nothing to do with these unfortunate suicides.
Sample Fan Comment
This comment got two likes. TWO LIKES, people.
#6 Organic Consumers Association
Facebook fans: 957K
What They Say About Themselves
“The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The OCA deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children’s health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability and other key topics. We are the only organization in the US focused exclusively on promoting the views and interests of the nation’s estimated 50 million organic and socially responsible consumers.”
What They Really Do
The OCA supports organic farming. They also embrace all manner of woo. They lie about vaccine effectiveness and safety. They promote unproven health treatments.
Recent Ridiculousness
OCA is crying out to defend the easy availability of homeopathic medicines in the United States.
The term homeopathy gets thrown around so much, few people seem to understand what it really is.
It’s not a catch-all for “natural cures”.
Homeopathy is taking an ingredient in solution, and diluting it so many freaking times (100 times 100) that there isn’t a single molecule of the active ingredient left in the final elixir.
No, really, that’s what it is. That’s what the actual goal is. That degree of dilution is supposed to make it more effective. Because water has “memory.”
Sample Fan Comment
Vaccines indeed work on the principle that “like cures like”. That’s where their similarity to homeopathy ends. Vaccines work to create immunity before you get sick, and they actually contain active ingredients.
#5 Medical Medium
Facebook fans: 998K
What He Says About Himself
“Anthony William, Medical Medium has devoted his life to helping people heal and overcome illness. Accurate Readings for Individuals Seeking an In-Depth Understanding of their Body & Health.”
What He Really Does
Every plant is a superfood somehow, one which replaces proven treatments for cancer and shit. That’s what Andrew’s been posting on Facebook, in between ads for his book and webinars. Day after day after day.
What he seems to be less eager to tell you on Facebook is that he thinks he’s got the power to diagnose and heal you with his mind. As he says on his website,
Anthony William was born with the unique ability to converse with a high-level spirit who provides him with extraordinarily accurate health information that’s often far ahead of its time.
Mr. William, with zero medical education, charges $400 for a half hour medical consultation. That is not a typo. That is $13.33 per minute. You can even have a consultation for a loved one who is not even in the room. But you’re not allowed to record your session that cost you a car payment. Take notes.
This asshole takes advantage of people desperate for a diagnosis. When doctors can find nothing wrong with you, he claims to zero in right on the cause using his Spirit Guide. Take these supplements. That’ll be four hundred dollars, please.
Recent Ridiculousness
Here’s the pattern:
- Nice soft intro, something about the vitamins and minerals.
- Fights cancer.
- Treats every disease under the sun.
- How to buy and eat them.
Sample Fan Comment
That’s medical advice you found in a Facebook meme. It does not work like Prozac for clinical depression. Stop shaming and misleading people who are using life-saving SSRIs; it’s really irresponsible.
#4 Natural Cures Not Medicine
Facebook fans: 1.1M
What They Say About Themselves
“We are here to break down the chemistry of food and find out how we can combine these elements best to improve our health naturally.”
What They Really Do
Woo, fear, and more woo. Ooh, look! A pole dancer!
Recent Ridiculousness
I just want to to put these here. They were posted two days apart.
Sample Fan Comment
A review of the latest comments on this page reveals that they are mostly mocking and indignant in tone. That gives me some reassurance.
#3 WorldTruth.tv
Facebook fans: 1.2M
What They Say About Themselves
“If you want to know the truth about this world, you came to the right place. Eddie is a blogger, researcher and a teacher of the REAL truth of this world.”
What They Really Do
This organization is so silly it seems satirical. But I’m pretty sure they’re serious.
However, they can’t discern when their legs are being pulled, such as when they fell for this actual satire by The Lapine, and published it on their own site with the headline Monsanto Cucumbers Cause Genital Baldness – Immediately Banned in Nova Scotia. Regardless of whether WorldTruth is for real, March Against Monsanto mistook the story for genuine, and spread it all over social media.
WorldTruth also breathlessly exclaimed Brain Eating Nanobots Being Put in Vaccines Says Whistleblower. In this antisemitic wall of text, they suggest that the latest Ebola outbreak was a hoax.
Someone had to assume the mantle when Weekly World News went out of print circulation.
Recent Ridiculousness
This article claims that NASA is hiding the “fact” that something is heading right for Earth next year. It’s Planet X. Which is actually a star or something. And Google Sky is in on the conspiracy to deceive the world. And it all was foretold in the Bible.
Sample Fan Comment
I think M. Night Shyamalan just optioned this screenplay to Hollywood Pictures.
#2 PreventDisease.com
Facebook fans: 1.5M
What They Say About Themselves
“We are dedicated to bringing you the most accurate and current health information for education and awareness. Our pursuit of health freedom through truthful reporting is a constant, evolving journey and the people’s network is our platform.”
What They Really Do
If only PreventDisease.com knew how to prevent disease, like with vaccines. But they don’t like ’em.
They don’t like preventing melanoma. The don’t like dentistry. They don’t like chemotherapy.
They do like to increase their Facebook pageviews with posts that have fuck-all to do with health.
Recent Ridiculousness
Let me guess, you’re going to say formula is bad for babies.
Well, fuck you. Oh, and it sounds oh-so-sciencey when you echo the refrain that breastmilk is “liquid gold.”
Not every mother can breastfeed, not every mother can breastfeed for very long. Not every mother wants to breastfeed. And as it turns out, that’s okay.
Can please we stop shaming mothers (and fathers) for their choices in how to feed their children–for one goddamned moment? It’s completely unnecessary and emotionally damaging.
Sample Fan Comment
You’re pretty sure, huh? May I review your doctorate in immunology, please?
#1 I fucking love science
Facebook fans: 20M
What She Says About Herself
“We’re here for the science – the funny side of science. Quotes, jokes, memes and anything your admin finds awesome and strange.”
What She Really Does
Surprised that I included the incredibly popular brainchild of Elise Andrew?
I used to follow the page too.
Well, she’s pulling a fast one on us. She lures us in with genuine science stories–that her team typically rewrites from other sources.
Then she slips in the bullshit.
She’s unsupportably scaring people about C-sections, hand sanitizer, nuclear power, and conventional farming.
She has the actual scientists, doctors and farmers pretty pissed at her.
Recent Ridiculousness
Yes, you should. Yes, they are.
Saying that our grandparents were probably born at home–and they turned out fine–is a great example of survivorship bias.
Yes, every one of us had a grandmother who made it to childbearing age. What about all the other babies who were born at the same time she was, but died due to lack of modern medicine? They can’t speak up.
In the early 1900’s most births were at home—and the births and deaths of babies who were stillborn or died shortly after birth were often not recorded. Only 7 states calculated a neonatal mortality rate back then…
Sample Fan Comment
Yes, there is a reason for everyone to have a hospital birth.
Is there a page you would have added to this list? Maybe I already included it in Part 1 or Part 2!
102 replies on “Ten Facebook Pages You Need to Stop Sharing From Part 3”
Thank you for including IFLS! I used to love that site but omg…clickbait. I know you have to draw traffic but they should really change the name to : ‘I want to look like I Fucking Love Science”.
You’re welcome! They’ve been chapping my hide for a while.
Omg seriously! She pushes her own agenda all the time. How is your opinion on Seaworld backed by any science?
The Mind Unleashed should be on this list over IFLS. There may be some biased opinions on their page but at least the majority of their articles have some truth to them. There are others that are much much worse and delve deeply into the pseudoscience based, anti-vax, anti-GMO, anti-human junk that people are lapping up.
Or better yet, Collective Evolution is really off the wall with some of the stuff they spout. They claim to be an education website but they stuff they post is downright fiction.
Collective Evolution is in Part 1. 🙂
The Mind Unleashed is in Part 1. 🙂
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed the same thing. I loved it and now I’m sitting there with a raised eyebrows more often than not.
It really does feel like she sold out for likes.
Yeah, me too. The name always seemed a little paradoxical to me in itself. Science should not be “loved” or worshipped.
But I guess “while science as a body of knowledge always contains some errors, the scientific method is still the best approach to knowledge that we currently have” just isn’t as catchy for a website name.
I used to be a big fan of IFLS, until the day she posted an article on Facebook with a title like, “Tower-like structures found deep in the ocean”, and because I am an archaeology fan, I was intrigued. They were natural formations with no mystical reasons behind their creation. That was the end for me. Kind of made me sad.
Agreed!
Elise Andrews doesn’t fucking love science, she just likes to check out its ass when it walks by.
I love this! Food Babe and Green Grandma should also be on here.
Food Babe is in Part 1 here. I’ll take a look at Green Grandma. Thanks!
IFLS went full retard when they endorsed the animal rights movement and called for the shut down of Seaworld. They don’t deserve any readership.
Having recently watched the movie Blackfish, I’d be interested for a anti-animal right’s perspective.
I’m not as extreme as the ‘close SeaWorld’ crowd, but the documentary did leave me thinking that more regulations are needed.
Wait, what? Was Blackfish just cherry-picked? Why not shut down Seaworld?
Please don’t use the word “retard”. It’s incredibly offensive and disrespectful to people with disabilities.
Hazel: No, it isn’t. It’s incredible offensive and disrespectful to white knights who have no idea what mentally disabled people think.
I’ll speak as somebody who grew up with multiple learning disabilities and had “retard” shouted at me by my classmates on a daily basis…
Yes, “retard” is indeed an extremely offensive term. Saying its only offensive to “white knights” is like saying the term “nigger” isn’t offensive to blacks because my one black friend is okay with it.
http://www.r-word.org/
How about suggestions for good, science based pages to follow?
Try ScienceAlert. Has been good so far, and about them is good too: http://www.sciencealert.com/our-team
WOW! ScienceAlert looks awesome! Where do I sign up for a website that is published by a bunch of folks who describe themselves as: a failed scientists, have no qualifications in general other than just writing stuff or my personal favorite the author of a book entitled “Zombie Tits”. You just cannot make these things up. o.O
Nice cherry-picking. http://www.sciencealert.com/our-team
I would suggest including this page on the list in an April Fool’s edition, but I’m worried too many people would be convinced.
Nice to see IFLS here. I bailed long ago when they started getting a bit heavy with the click-bait. I wasn’t around long enough to see the woo, or maybe I just ignored it.
One that’s been irritating me is the group that calls themselves Occupy the NRC. Basically it’s a group that fear mongers against nuclear power. They consistently quote people whose credentials are either suspect or not related to the field they talk about. And when you try to have a rational discussion, but don’t share their view, you are instantly blocked. Worth making your next list?
I’ll add them to the list of possible additions. Thank you!
Hi there, I’m one of the original admins of IFLS and wanted to thank you for making it #1. She’s taken something fun and just for kicks into a money maker. It’s not about the science or the fun. Quite sad.
Hi Shawn,
Would you be willing to go on the record for an interview about IFLS? If so, please PM me at fb.com/ksenapathy.
Best,
Kavin
you will cringe if you see David Wolfe
He’s in Part 2. 🙂
I was seeing wonderfully innocuous and seemingly harmless quotes from David Wolfe from lots of my friends whom I consider to be rational people, but it takes 30 seconds to Google a guy and what do you find? He’s FUCKING NUTS
Actually, having a low risk birth at a hospital really is about the dumbest thing someone with access to a professional midwife can do. Hospitals are filthy places (from a microbial standpoint – ask anyone who actually works in one). The number of C-sections, and resulting complications, are ridiculously high, and unnecessary, because of the use of labor inducing medications to speed delivery when delivery does not need, for any medical reason, to be accelerated. There’s a reason hospitals in most “industrialized” nations, like all over Europe, don’t typically deliver babies the ways ours do – it’s a waste of resources, it’s an unnecessary danger to mother and baby, and it’s hugely expensive by comparison. The other reason is that in the early days of the 1900s America produced a LOT of new physicians, but the problem was we produced too many. Too many physicians, not enough patients, why not go after a new market? Enter the full on assault on home births and midwives in this country. While other countries, generally, continued the tradition and integrated medical advancements, our country attacked and destroyed it and created a new industry. And now we are where we are – with an embarrassing infant mortality rate (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/09/29/our-infant-mortality-rate-is-a-national-embarrassment/). Which isn’t new, our infant mortality rate has been horrendous long before the recent resurgence in interest in home births, and specialized non-hospital based birthing centers. We are doing something very wrong, and most of the world is doing something very right when it comes to child birth. And it’s all about the hospitals (and more research is showing it’s also got a lot to do with the physicians, as well – as they are more likely to try and artificially expedite a delivery through pharmacological means then a midwife is).
And, no, I don’t have kids. I’m not even a woman. I don’t even work L&D (though many people in my family, professional, and social circle do). I’m just a medical professional that knows about this because I did the research (as a man, I always found this area of medicine fascinating). That, and I know the truth all medical professionals know – the worst place for a healthy person to be is in a hospital. Hell, every nurse and physician and nurse aid and housekeeper and unit secretary that works in a hospital will test positive for MRSA in their nostrils with a swab (OK, not EVERY one, but typically 80%+ in most hospitals).
And, yes, children die in home births, unnecessarily even. But a hell of a lot more die unnecessarily in hospital births. All one needs do is extrapolate the readily available data from all the other wealthy countries that heavily utilize home births and birthing centers to see the safety. Even the NCBI is getting in on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2742137/
As for C Sections, those should never be done for physician convenience, and they are to a terrifying degree in many hospitals (even in the UK). There’s much to be said for the child being exposed to the germs of child birth (interestingly, this includes maternal fecal matter that research is showing is of more importance to microbial balance in children then we could have guessed). Which isn’t to say there aren’t expectant mothers demanding C Sections, as well, and that can’t be discounted. I can imagine the urge to just have a baby cut out of me to end the pain instead of letting nature take its course. I mean, our medical sciences, and general state of technology, is largely about countering natural processes in many ways.
Not trying to defend IFLS, certainly not on a page intent on tearing it down (I already hear the trolls waking up), but there are two sides to every coin. I wouldn’t bother defending their stance on nuclear power (I know next to nothing about nuclear power generation – though I know a lot about the medical implications of radiation). Though I would agree the growing amount of click bait on their Facebook page needs to stop, it must be considered that they are exposing several generations to stuff they might not be exposed to in an easily accessible way. And that’s no small thing. I have three nieces in my family that are pursuing an education in the hard sciences because of the kind of stuff they first encountered through websites like IFLS – and that’s a big deal. That’s a REALLY big deal. I’d rather a new generation of kids get interested in science, and get exposed to a small amount of dubiously researched issues, then not. At the very least, once they get to college, the professors will sort them out right quick.
agreed!
THANK YOU for this comment!
I really appreciate this comment, especially after reading the horrendous OB/GYN blog linked to. Within the comment section, a woman tells a story about how she withdrew consent for certain procedures, then had them forced upon her. The skeptical OB who writes the blog responded telling her that if she was more worried about her experience than whether her baby survived she was narcissistic and immature.
Thank you for posting
Skeptical OB is an anti-homebirth fundamentalist who actively rejects and ignores any and all of the *science* that shows that home births with a trained professional midwife are as safe or safer than hospital births. She’s about as unbiased as the Westboro creeps.
Like this one from Dec 2015:
http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/home-births-as-safe-as-hospital-births-research-finds/
I’ve spent the past ten years talking to women who have suffered at the hands of medical staff during childbirth in hospitals – including coercion and assault during labour, some pretty grotesque practices continue throughout US hospitals which is one big reason why home births have become popular.
Frankly posting something entitled ‘Yes, it is your fault that your baby died at homebirth’ undermines this entire piece, such utter trash from a medical perspective but also horrific victim-blaming. Not to mention the other source to prove the point is a minor site dedicated to personal experiences of those who have had children harmed during home birth – not sure this is more valid that positive experiences of home birth, or if this is scientific evidence.
The Netherlands has one of (if not the) lowest infant mortality rates in the world and very high home birth rates. Some of this can be attributed to high level prenatal care offered to ALL pregnant women, and not just higher socio-economic groups (which is what gives the U.S. such a bad rating for infant mortality). But not the whole story. I had my first child in hospital in the Netherlands and it nearly traumatized my husband and me to the point of never getting pregnant again. Second child born at home, after my husband initially vehemently objected but once the midwives explained that there would not be an OB/GYN present at the hospital at all hours and would need to be called in if something were wrong, he changed his mind and felt OK about my decision to do homebirth. Second birth MUCH better than the first and I healed much faster after my vaginal tear, rather than the deep episiotomy they performed for the first birth… Most hospitals here have birthing rooms with birthing stools, very low use of epidurals or cesarean operations, and midwives attending the birth unless there is a complication; this in stark contrast to the U.S. I’m not defending the IFLS site, I’m just saying your example of why it’s a bad site isn’t a good one.
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/11November/Pages/hospital-births-home-births-compared.aspx
Hospitals are not always the best place to give birth. Especially when having your second child. Home birth may even be better, if this study is correct.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22888411
Ah, a Netherlands study. The dirty secret about the Netherlands is that low-risk women under midwife care, whether at home or at the hospital, have worse outcomes (read: dead babies) than high-risk women under OB care at the hospital.
http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c5639.full
“We found that delivery related perinatal death was significantly higher among low risk pregnancies in midwife supervised primary care than among high risk pregnancies in obstetrician supervised secondary care.”
With the Morecambe Bay report showing that midwives in the UK hospital system make equally incompetent decisions that take the lives of babies, the conclusion really is that midwives need to be better-regulated, not that we need to get women out of the hospital. Yes, women often have more interventions under OB care than under midwife care. Having a greater rate of live babies comes from that. Women under OB care at a hospital who have uncomplicated labors and deliveries don’t have interventions.
Also, if you actually read the UK Birthplace study, you’ll note that women with low-risk pregnancies having their first baby at home have almost double the rate of complications for the newborn than having the baby at the hospital. Only if they restrict the dataset to the absolutely lowest risk women – those who have had successful vaginal deliveries without complications in the past, and have a current low-risk pregnancy – do they get the risk to the newborn down to equal hospital birth. However, that is a very small population, so it’s hard to make stats. It’s also far, far more restrictive criteria than are actually used for HB in the UK. It’s very deceptive to take outcomes for the lowest of low-risk women and try to convince women to whom those criteria don’t apply to give birth at home.
Well said. Avoid hospitals when you can
That’s not what he said.
My UK based Mum had six home births. She was tiny and had big babies. My brother was brain damaged after my ignorant Mum was left labouring for FOUR days. My eight pound sister was lucky to escape with her life and Mums. I am not so small and have wide hips and my 35 week babies were small, yet I needed emergency C section and was close to death with both of my births. Thank God for hospital births and long may they remain! Incidentally, to my horror, a friend told me that in Turkey, C section is the normal way of birth!! Shudder!!
I was a bit surprised that you included IFLS, but only because I’ve taken a habit to skip their articles for a while. Maybe I wasn’t willing to face all the woo they are spreading, or maybe the ads on their site were too much of a turn-off. I don’t know. Anyway, thanks for the eye-opener.
You ate right for including IFLS but not for the reason you give. I suggest you take a read of the Birthplace study commissioned in the UK by the NHS
https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/birthplace/results
This shows hat homebirth can be as safe as hospital birth for some women. You also linked your evidence to the skeptical ob, who is not much above a troll. There are plenty of reasons to include IFLS on your list, but pick an actual reason, not one that makes you look as incredible as that page.
It took me about 2days and a few of their posted articals to know these guys are primed for your list.
I didn’t realise IFLS was quite that bad. Just had a quick look over the page and ……. Unlike straight away. Great piece well done. It also gives people a handy list to focus their woo rage.
Consumer reports used to be such a reputable publication. Now I really wonder if anyone is truthful in what they publish
I think that they are still good for product reviews such as cars, appliances, etc., that they actually test. Stuff they “promote” and “advertise”…? Nope! Still a shame they sold out like that…
When the first one of these was shared by the Facebook page “All Science, All The Time” I facetiously commented that they forgot IFLS, purveyor of such gems as “A machine to turn water into wine” and “Solar Freakin’ Roadways!” I was so happy to see that they made it here, and at number 1! Across all thirty pages, that’s the only one I ever followed, and it irks me to this day how long it took me to figure out.
Me too, man. Me too.
So it wasn’t just me that noticed IFLS has been getting awful pseudo-sciency lately.
It had been getting weird. But I did not pay much attention. The drop that did it for me finally was the post about the polar bear eating a cub, and more of the sort. Science? BS.
Most CNMs won’t take VBACs for home birth. My firstborn was a stressful but normal hospital birth (vaginal) and my second was a home birth with a CNM assisted by another nurse. We had an Ob-gyn for backup and lived 3 blocks from a hospital. Even my Ob-gyn brother-in-law said I was getting superb prenatal care, more attentive than he has time for his patients, and he reassured my in-laws that I was better-prepared and a prime candidate for home birth. Despite their skepticism, my in-laws flew out to be at the birth.
Our son’s birth was non-stressful , normal and joyful. His sister (who attended a sibling birth-prep class) and grandparents were there to see him come into this world. Home birth was unquestionably the better way for us!
Please look into the Conservative Tribune and consider adding them to the list…. Very fear mongering, over exaggerating and hateful “journalists” that always posts BREAKING news or dropping the BOMBSHELL about how Muslims should be destroyed, Obama and his super villains are gonna get you.
Moms across America, Zen Honeycutt’s page needs to be on this list. Anti-GMO fear mongering at it’s finest!
You’re right. She is pretty awful.
Against All Grain, she believes she cured her ulcerative colitis through her BS recipes .
Recently endorsed a woman who ‘cured’ her son’s autism .
I just discovered your Facebook page, and of course linked to your web page. You are a woman after my own heart… or more appropriately, brain. Reason magazine is on my daily read list, but I missed the 2014 article on Vandanna Shiva. Knowing that this woman is evil, or stupid, (stupidity with power) it is always good to see Ronald Bailey’s take on anything related to science.
Some of the reasons for the sites being untruthful and bad are true. It’s highly unlikely that anyone is talking to some high spirit to figure out what’s wrong with you and you should always be warry of anyone who makes a profit by convincing you to buy something. However, as stated in the section on Hyman you mentioned many of the suggested alternate medical treatments were no better than a placebo, but in many cases, placebos can have a pretty big effect. Also, accupuncture has been proven to help with certain issues. I’m not familiar with the site but I will say in some sections, your bias is showing. I’m not saying any of these sites are good, but I think you could have picked some more accurate examples of why they are bad. Also, you might want to consider how you approach the subjects and your arguments as well as elaborate on the problems. I know you aren’t trying to be fair or even accurate, andthese are your assertions, however, you claim that readers are in the right place if they want to avoid lies about the world, medicine, and science and that may or may not be true. Without fairly representing the issues and using understanding and using research, this artical is as biased, unreliable, and full of lies, intentionally or unintentionally, as the sites you are criticizing. Still, I did enjoy reading through it. 🙂
Please excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes. My phone is being a major jerk right now. Hopefully it is all comprehendable.
I don’t know if disclose.tv is popular enough to make it to this list, but they post a lot of the same woo and conspiracy as the others.
I tried to kill myself in 08 by drinking round up. I drank about a gal. all i did was trip balls for a few days.
PreventDisease.com has also posted pro-Hitler, Holocaust denying garbage, too.
Dawn, I really have to thank you for all 3 of these articles, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for any future versions as well. I just caught my social media management company posting an image from Dr. Axe to our Pinterest and G+ pages and had to quickly delete them before anyone got the idea that I support ANYTHING that wacko says. To help make sure that doesn’t happen again, I’ve sent them a link to all 3 of your articles with the very clear direction to make sure that NONE of them are EVER referenced by us, ANYWHERE.
I don’t suppose you’d consider doing another series of articles that are the opposite, though, would you? You know – “Ten Facebook Pages You Need to Start Sharing From NOW!”
I have definitely been mulling that over–a list of pages that bring the science. Thanks for the vote of confidence in your social media management position!
I’ll be looking out for it if you do, and I’m actually thinking of doing something like that on my website, as I can probably find a way to relate that to dentistry SOMEHOW. 🙂
What about Katy Says? A recent post that was claiming EMFs disturbed her sleep raised my skeptic alarm… Just like IFLS, she claims that is science-based, even citing a ton of research articles. Also, not sure about her mechanics of body alignment claims…
Thanks for putting these lists together!
I went and checked Consumer Report’s profile after reading this; I didn’t see any woo-woo articles? The only one that mentioned vaccine in the first page or two was an article telling you *to* get vaccines if you’re a new grandparent. There were a few review articles of different appliances and cars and one about increasing your home’s curb appeal.
Here’s one of the articles I linked to: http://atomicinsights.com/consumer-reports-editor-clings-to-lnt-to-spread-uncertainty-about-radiology/
You are either ignorant of many of these subjects or you are bought and paid for. GMOs are safe? Really? Then why won’t they label them?
could you add buzzfeed and slate in the next part?
Awesome work. You take the most extreme viewpoints, extrapolate them to apply to anyone who shows concern, while totally ignoring that there are not just seeds, but whole mounds of truth underneath.
Add THIS site to the list of sites to ignore and not share from.
How does a Fine Art degree qualify you to condemn Mark Hyman, or any other health practitioner or intervention? I’ve read one of his books. Great stuff. If you put him up against 99% of conventional docs in a side by side debate, he would bury all of them.
Seems every day there is a new one of these “skeptic” sites where someone is attacking everything that is not sanctioned by institutional medicine, and then claiming “science” as the default reason. And implicitly, sometimes explicitly, defending mainstream medicine with its magic plastic pills and extremely high death rate. It’s all cult-like to a horrifying degree.
I agree with the last commenter. I’m not a mindless nutcase who accepts everything I read by any means (I’m a journalist and spend a lot of time verifying information, or debunking it) but we know so little about our world, our bodies, medicine, the workings of the mind, the Universe… it seems to be very important to some people to have certainty about all of these things and more, and they are so sure that Science has all the answers so they spew condescension and spiteful criticism like a volcano spews lava. Which is fine if it makes them feel better to believe in Science, but the attitude kind of sucks. (and it makes it very difficult to have a meaningful or helpful conversation/dialogue).
Anthony William, by the way, does NOT claim to heal people with his mind. He claims that a Spirit tells him what’s wrong with people who have been to dozens of doctors and been sick for years with medical mysteries, and then he tells them how to fix it with diet and supplements. Can you prove that he’s ineffective and dishonest? I find it hard to believe that thousands of people would keep lining up to seek his advice if the majority of those he’s treated were dissatisfied with his service (and I’ve looked – it’s how I found this site actually). Having been ill for the past 2 years with something that looks like Lyme, but unable to obtain ANY reasonable diagnosis from my board-certified internal medical practitioner, I read his book with interest and it’s actually not radical or “woo” at all (OK, except for the last sections about angels 😉 ) I didn’t notice my doctor giving me any consultations for free, or refunding my money when she wasn’t able to help me, and the same story with my frozen shoulder episode which cost me hundreds of Euros and not a damned bit of useful advice or healing to be had from the specialist I visited several times. So what’s the difference? If you go to a pharmacy and pay $50 for medicine and it doesn’t work do you call your doctor a quack? You should be careful: all that bitterness and skepticism you’re throwing around might end up giving you an ulcer or something worse…
Anthony william now charges 500 dollars for a 30 minute scan via the phone. I guess strike while the iron is hot is his new motto. He has trained 6 or7 women to handle his mass of people who want to pay for the reading. I did hear they are 250. I don’t know how they could do what he does? How can you teach others when you are the only one in the world who has spirit talking in your ear. Does he loan him out? People who are sick and desperate. Sad part is many cannot afford all of the supplements and food let alone a phone scan. Most say they are saving up.
Could you, as an educator, use proper citations if your information is in fact real? It seems to me, that if you yourself were a legitimate teacher, you would know the rules of grammar and citation and that all of your quotations without citations are in fact considered plagiary in the academic world. Apparently, you are just an adjunct part-time associate college teacher who wishes to make a name for yourself. I’ve read many of your “arguments” and know through my own in-depth research for personal knowledge that you didn’t do the proper research on many of your topic sites. Oh, one more thing, learn to spell, that’s what spellcheck is for.
Well something tells me you’re part of one of the brainwashed idiots that follow or run one of these moronic pages. It’s pretty funny that your only argument is ‘herpderp grammar’. Because ‘know through my own in-depth research for personal knowledge’ Is a total and absolute bullshit reason to try to say someone didn’t do their research and if anything makes you look like the idiot who didn’t do their research.
So glad you included IFLS. I used to like that site as well. But as they increased clickbait and BS stories I got annoyed. Eventually I called out her BS to many times and she blocked me. Which I could not be more proud of.
Not sure what’s more disturbing, the number of likes these sites have, or that you have to call out the ridiculous claims they make to show people the lies they are putting out. I have run into people who try to use these claims in arguments (especially the GMO haters). I tell them I can produce just as many studies, by peer reviewed accredited scientists, to refute any reports they have showing them to cause all sorts of horrible diseases, suicides, yada, yada. That generally shuts them up. LOL
Consumer Reports? Only a corporate shill would lump this uncommercialized non-profit institution in with the crackpots.
David Icke. if this guy were any nuttier, he’s be wrapped in paper and for sale in the candy aisle. definitely should be on the list.
Choices and truth
Waterford Whispers News! Satire website but people always seem to share it. The links are mainly shared as a joke but there are a lot of people who believe it. Just read the comments underneath the articles. The stories are bonkers, but there are idiots making stupid comments in agreement!
You surely shouldn’t give a story credence or not based on the site that hosts it. (Would doing that be be an ad paginem fallacy?)
You should add Lamar David Price. He called me a child of Satan and blocked me from his page for disputing several of his posts. He has a video on his page of a person saying chemotherapy is only 7% effective. The person quotes an article which I looked up and it was on salvage chemotherapy in recurrent gonadoblastoma.
Actually I think his name is Lamar Edward Price
Check out Moms Across America. They fight GmoS through mom shaming.
I described Zen Honeycutt’s MAA here. http://dawnsbrain.com/on-autism-whom-to-trust-and-whom-to-avoid-like-the-plague/
Before you condemn Mark Hyman, I’d suggest you attend a conference of his organization, the Institute for Functional Medicine. Presentations address the latest science from around the world, presented by MD-PhDs and actual scientists on the cutting edge of genetics, cancer research, and biochemistry, and microbiology. Yes, Dr. Hyman is trying to market his book. But, behind the scenes he’s also doing amazing work that is transforming health care and actually helping people get well. Why do you think Cleveland Clinic, the best medical institution in the U.S. is working with Dr. Hyman? Maybe you should stick to graphic design and not try to delve into subjects you know nothing about. Good luck.
I have passed the CSET in biology and earned a teaching credential in the subject. Can you say as much? http://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/PDF/CSET_Prep/CS_120items.pdf
Functional medicine is smoke and mirrors, providing “treatments” that don’t stand up to scientific scrutiny. https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/bill-and-hillary-clinton-go-woo-with-mark-hyman-and-functional-medicine/
Nothing about Collective Evolution?
They are in Part One.
What an ignorant, non-brilliant, butthurt, foul, pidgeon holed UglyGirl trashBlog. Congratulations, Dawn’s NoBrain. I think I found the most ridiculous Narcissistic-but-I-am-ugly-and-I-Know-it blog that I have ever encountered.
Keep it … errrr…. classy?
This comment makes you seem like a rational, compassionate, and kind person.
Another troll, another opinion….. yawwwn.
You’re commenting on a website I own and run. Who is the troll?
I think that you should try some of the natural remedies, vitamins, herbs, etc. There are a lot of people claiming crazy things and are only trying to make money and promote themselves.
If you have time I would like to challenge you to find a good naturopath that you like and try some of there ideas. As you stated, some of the medicines are diluted and are mostly water so they won’t hurt you. It seems like you have tried traditional medicine so you have the right to comment on that, but until you try the other side you don’t have the right to comment.
I think it would be very interesting to everyone to hear your your experiences with homeopathy.
Please let me know if you decide to.
No, thank you. I prefer to use healthcare backed by scientific evidence, and medicines that are regulated for safety and efficacy.